Target your customer marketing more efficiently by using the Contacts Web Database template

The Access 2010 Contacts Web Database helps you understand your customer and partner details by making it easier to manage and essential information. This template enables you to quickly start tracking name and address information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and even attach pictures, documents, or other files relevant to each contact.

The following video shows a brief scenario of how this template might be used.

Now, read on to learn how you can start using this template with your available contacts list to help run your business more efficiently.

Start the database for the first time

The first time that you start the Contacts database, Access displays a Getting Started page. You should also see the following tabs that you can click to add, edit, or locate your contacts information.

Tabs

Features

Getting Started

Information on using the template.

Address Book

Add and edit contact names and information.

Datasheet

Datasheet view of contacts.

Report Center

Quick view and access to the reports in the database.

Learn more about the Contacts web database

You can click links on the Welcome to Contacts web database page to learn more about using the template by watching the videos or find helpful information on customizing your database, hire a specialist, or provide feedback about the template. The next section explains how to build your contacts database, use it for reports, ways to manage the database and resources for next steps.

Ways to add new contacts

The process of creating a database by using a template is the same for Web databases and client databases.

Click the Address Book tab and click Add New.

Tip: You can also enter the data in the datasheet, click the Datasheet tab and click New in the ID field.

View and edit contacts

Access provides a couple of ways to view or edit your contacts. You can open the Contact Details form either the Address Book tab or the Datasheet tab. The Datasheet view might be a better option for just viewing the information or making minor edits and the Contact Details form for more detailed changes.

View and edit contacts on the Address Book form

Click the Address Book tab.

In the pane on the left, click the name of the contact you want to view.

To add a comment about the contact, type the comment in the Add a Comment box, and then click Save.

To edit other information about the contact, click Edit Details, edit the information as needed, and then click Save & Close.

View and edit contacts on the Datasheet form

Scroll to the contact that you want to edit, and click in the ID column.
Access opens the Contact Details form.

Make the changes that you want, and then click Save & Close.

Edit the items in a drop-down list

Most drop-down lists in the Contacts Web Database can be edited to suit your needs. Use the following procedure:

Click the down-arrow to display the list. If the list is editable, the Edit List Items button will appear just below the list.

Click the Edit List Items button.

In the Edit List Items dialog box, type the list items you want, one on each line.

Optionally, select a default value from the Default Value list.

Click OK.

Attach files to a record

If a form or datasheet contains an Attachments field, you can use that field to attach pictures, documents, or other files to the record. Use the following procedure:

Double-click the Attachments field.

In the Attachments dialog box, click Add.

Browse to the file you want to attach, and then click Open.

In the Attachments dialog box, click OK.

Search for a contact

Search boxes are included on the Address Book form and the Datasheet form. To search for a contact:

Type any part of a name, company, address, or phone number in the search box, and then click the search icon or press ENTER. Access filters the records to those that contain the search terms you entered.

To clear the search, delete the contents of the search box, and then click the search icon or press ENTER.

View and print reports

Select a report format that works best for your needs, template has the following five reports under the Report Center tab:

Report Name

Format

Address Book

Displays contacts and details in a directory format.

Contacts Details

Displays field names along with the contact information.

Phone Book

Displays contacts and the phone numbers.

Printable Labels

Displays contacts in label format.

Contact List

Displays contacts in alphabetical order.

View a report

Click the Report Center tab, and then under Select a Report, click the report that you want to view.

Print a report

Click the report to preview it, and then click Open in New Tab.

On the File tab, click Print, and select the print option that you want.

Publish the database to Access Services

If you have access to a SharePoint server that is running Access Services, you can publish the Contacts Web Database to the server and share it with your team. Use the following procedure:

Click the File tab, and then click Publish to Access Services.

In the Server URL box, type the URL of the SharePoint server that you want to use.

In the Site Name box, type the name you want for the database. This will become part of the URL.

Click Publish to Access Services.

Access publishes the database to the server. If all goes well, Access displays a success message which contains a link to the new Web database.

Next Steps

As you begin to use the Contacts Web database to manage your contacts, you will most likely think of new ways in which you want to query or filter your data. You may also discover that you want to modify the database to better suit your needs. This section has some links that take you to more information about the typical tasks and modifications that you can do.